If anyone has a small-man syndrome, Dom Zaccarelli thinks Devon Smith may be the one.

"People have been telling him his whole life he can't do something," Zaccarelli, Smith's high school coach, said. "For a long time, people said he's too small to play football. That turned a competitive fire in him."

Listed at just 5-foot-7, 153 pounds, the true freshman has wasted no time in making his mark on the football field.

Smith returned the opening

kick of the season and has already had plays drawn up specifically for him. In two games, Smith has notched three receptions for 29 yards.

With a carry and three kick returns, the Maryland native ranks fourth on the team in all-purpose yards with 98.

Quarterback Daryll Clark believes Smith can have a big-time impact on plays, including gimmick ones.

In fact, on one play in a scrimmage during camp, Clark threw a pass to Smith on a bubble screen.

The freshman promptly took it about 70 yards for a score.

"No one was close to catching him," Clark said. "He's the fastest guy on the team, period. No doubt."

While playing for Westlake High School, Smith first had to sit out a season because he transferred to Zaccarelli's team. This led to some question marks people had about Smith's ability because he had to sit, Zaccarelli said.

But that couldn't be further from the truth for the coach.

Zaccarelli, who called Smith the fastest player he's ever coached, said he first saw him when he was competing in track. The track coach wanted him to get a look at Smith, and it didn't take long for him to realize this wasn't just another potential football player.

Backed by that speed, Smith challenged the national record in 55 meters while in high school.

Smith was 0.23 seconds off the record in his final attempt at the Maryland 4A/3A championships but still posted a 3A record.

"You see him accelerate out of the blocks -- holy smokes," Zaccarelli said. "But that doesn't always transfer to football. They go great straight ahead, turn left all the time, no problem. It comes down to making a guy miss, making a guy miss in space. Some kids can't do that."

Smith didn't have that problem in high school, when he led Westlake to a 13-0 victory in the 3A title game for its first state championship.

In that game, Smith opened the scoring with an 88-yard punt return for a score.

The freshman almost repeated the showing in the Crab Bowl, which featured a Washington D.C. team playing against a Baltimore squad.

On the opening play of the half, Smith returned the kick 98 yards for a touchdown.

About eight months later, Penn State coach Joe Paterno has a kid who he said committed to the Nittany Lions quickly and can be used for plays to the outside.

"He's really a great kid, very poised, and you figured he had a shot at doing something for you early because of his great speed," Paterno said.

"But he's just not a fast kid. He's a good athlete. He's a tough kid, too."

As Smith gets older and more experienced, Zaccarelli expects his former player to have his role increased.

When this happens, opponents must gameplan against him, resulting in teams possibly sacrificing coverage of other players to essentially make it a nine-man defense.

Although Smith has dealt with questions concerning his size, his height may actually be an advantage because he can get lost behind all the big linemen.

Plus, Smith has one aspect that can't be coached.

"I don't know that there are many kids with that type of speed and game-breaking ability," Zaccarelli said. "Over the course of time, if he gets bigger, gets thicker, he's not going to lose a step. You can't coach what he does on the field."